Holiday Weekends: Special Memories!

These long holiday weekends take me back to some very special times.  Most specifically, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day weekends.

Can you remember when you were little, the times spent with your cousins?  The times spent playing, laughing, growing close, yes, and even fighting?  The grown ups would sit around and play cards, and their would be plenty of food?  I spent little to no time with my maternal side cousins (now I'm talking first cousins here) but I spent a LOT of time with my paternal side cousins. 

Memorial Day we'd have the parade in the AM and then we would follow with, weather permitting, a great late meal at my aunt and uncle's house on their huge side porch.  Folding tables, saw horse and plywood tables, folding chairs to accommodate all! More than likely we would have my Aunt's most awesome lasagna and sometimes we'd have clam bakes.  4th of July always included some fireworks.

We'd play kickball in the alley behind their house.  Run to the corner to watch the trains pass on the tracks.  When you are growing up you assume you will always have these times.  And as you grow older you wish you could have them once again. 

This fall we will hopefully be able to all get together again for the first time in a REALLY, REALLY long time.  All of the cousins.  We haven't managed all of us together in one place since high school I believe.  Their are only 5 of us.  You'd think it could be done more often.  And from watching relatives on both side growing older, I've noticed that it only gets more difficult to get everyone together. 

Will it be the same?  No.  It never is what we remember it being.  But we can make it just as good by sharing our memories and the news of our current lives.  Are all our elders still with us? No.  We have lost some of them and we will remember them fondly and wish for their presence.

Remember to love your memories, but instead of making excuses not to get together, take the time to make more memories with new experiences while you keep it always....Tradionally Twisted!

Baptismal Tradition....Twisted!



My Great-Grandmother:
The original owner of the Bowl.



Our family has a baptismal tradition that I am so glad that our daughter will be continuing. 

In genealogy it is most likely the paternal family name that is researched the most.  Following the maternal line, to a lot of folks, is seen as not as important to know.  I must admit it’s a little more difficult, what with the changing of the surname; however it is still your heritage.  I think that is why I am so thrilled with her decision to carry this family tradition forward.

We have a white cut milk-glass bowl that has been used for generations for familial baptisms. In our family it's known as the Baptismal Bowl.  My maternal grandfather was baptized out of this bowl. As was my mother and her brother, myself and my brother, my uncle’s children, my brother’s son, my daughter, my grand-niece and now my grand-daughter will be added to that list. 

So now you may ask, how does this get classified as a maternal line tradition?  The bowl was my great-grandmother's bowl and she started the tradition.  My grandfather being an only-child received the bowl.  He in turn passed it onto his daughter, the first born.  It will be passed to me, the first born daughter, and I, in turn, to my daughter and then her to hers.  So while the surname changes with each generation, the same familial bond is there.

It will be a very special time for us as a family. My daughter’s best friend, who is like family to us, has two daughters and they will be baptized at the same time, out of the same bowl as my grand-daughter.  It will be a very special event that will be made even more special by the fact that it will be officiated by my husband. Every pastor that we talked to refused to baptize our granddaughter unless we belonged to or joined “their” church!  Feeling that was a bit hypocritical, to join only for the baptism, we decided that our walk with God was being compromised.  By proceeding in this manner we feel that we can allow our daughter and her husband to make the choices for their daughter that need to be made and then she can make her choice later when she’s had time to grow into her faith. 

Our hearts will be filled with joy, hope and, most of all, LOVE!  What a precious gift of tradition to pass forward to new generations.

Keep your loved ones near and don’t forget to keep it …… Traditionally Twisted!